There are some sights that just thrill ! I have a border in the garden that forms a bank and it is planted with a mix of shrubs and hardy geraniums. A few years ago I scattered some seeds in amongst the planting and kept my fingers crossed !
Over the years I have not been disappointed with the ongoing results. The ' snake's head ' fritillary, F. meleagris has well and truly settled in. The tessellated, dusky mauve and white heads are now increasing forming a sea of nodding heads.
I have met people who are not wild about these flowers, often referring to them as rigid and plastic like in their waxy coats. yet, for me they are plants that possess that certain ' wow ' factor.
Graceful in stem, delicate of flower, they are a curiosity writ large.
When you get the white form mingling in it really is a lovely sight !
Turkey, Afganistan and Pakistan is the home of the giant member of the family, F. imperialis, a truly magnificent plant, but a tricky customer for some. They make a wonderful picture on mass. Many moons ago, I used to deliver meals on wheels in this area, and had the privilege of visiting a lady who grew these plants like weeds in her back garden ! I will never forget the sight, to get to the garden there was a journey through a series of dark, musty passages. and down deeper into a scullary. On opening the heavy outer door, light flooded in, smacking us back with bright blinding intensity. Fragrance kicked in next, pungent, almost foxy.
A lotion to the iris was to follow - standing tall some 5ft tall, bolt upright, erect stems carried large, dripping orange-yellow heads, crowned with a fancy arrangement of leafy bracts. Striking !
A cup of tea and this tale always accompanied my spring visit..............when Christ died, all the flowers in the garden of Gethsemane bowed their heads, bar one, the pure white crown imperial. An angel was sent to ask the crown imperial to rethink, it blushed, hung it's head and shed a tear from each of the florets. Take a look little droplets you will spy......
The lady has long gone now and I often wonder if those magestical imperials still hold sway in the back garden !
Conditions need to be right to achieve the best results. The bulb has a hollow centre, if this gathers water in cold wet soil, the bulb rots. Choose the sunniest sight possible with well-drained soil. If conditions are not ideal then consider growing in pots, shelter over winter, bringing them out in the spring.
There are many Fritillary to choose from and these you are likely to find through specialist growers and at seasonal plant fairs. But F. meleagris should be widely available from garden centres and nurseries. It was from a plant fair that I found this beauty F. affinis.
It looks as if it should be difficult, fussy perhaps ?! But not at all. Growing in partial shade in well drained soil it's more than happy. Commonly known as the checker lily or chocolate lily it is native to North America. Long stems carry these delicious looking nodding heads with variable mottling. Sometimes yellowish or greenish brown with a lot of yellow mottling or, yellow and green with purple mottling, in this instance mine has a very distinctive luxurious purplish black coat. Quite divine !
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